


Writing's on the Wall

by fvckingavengers



Series: Lover of Mine [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Comfort/Angst, F/M, Fluff, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:47:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24759547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fvckingavengers/pseuds/fvckingavengers
Summary: Bucky becomes consumed by his flashbacks of his former partner, Viper (reader). The two are appointed to go on a high profile mission and must undergo as a married couple.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Series: Lover of Mine [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779610
Comments: 3
Kudos: 31





	Writing's on the Wall

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Lover of Mine, where the rules are made up and canon doesn’t matter! This fic is my new baby. I love the concept and I’m excited to hear your feedback!

> **I’m prepared for this  
>  I never shoot to miss  
>  But I feel like a storm is coming  
>  If I’m gonna make it through the day  
>  Then there’s no more use in running  
>  This is something I gotta face**

7:03 am.

Bucky sits up and rubs his tired eyes. He’s still only has a towel covering his waist from his early morning shower. He lets it fall to the floor as he gets up to put on some appropriate layers.

The compound is quiet. Eerily so. He hasn’t been awake this early since he can’t remember when. He hopes a jog around the property will do him good. Clear his mind and rid him of the pain throbbing in the back of his head.

The formally black sky turns to purple, then to blue as the sun rises above the horizon. It smells of fresh cut grass and and the musk of his own sweat. He’s at peace for a moment, until the image of you flashes in his brain and he trips over his own feet. He curses to himself and remains on the ground to collect himself.

He figures that life was due to throw a curveball at him sooner or later. Things were going too smoothly for too long. Nightmares had stayed at bay. He was on a lucky streak with work - kicking maximum ass with minimal injuries.

Bucky sighs, lowering his gaze to the ground, plucking a small daisy from a patch of grass and twirling it between his fingers.

_\- -_

_Chicago, Illinois. 1969._

_After your last mission together, they put you into cryo. Preserving you for the next time they needed you to assist them. It was over a year and a half until Bucky saw you again. Well, a year, eight months, and seventeen days, but whose counting?_

_Your acting abilities astounded him._

_You were so stoic under the florescent lights of the facility. There was no light in your eyes and your features remained neutral. Not frowning, certainly not smiling. And when Pierce makes a condescending or borderline sexual remark, you stay unmoving._

_But the second you step outside, feel the sunlight on your skin and bask in the fresh air, a switch flips. You’re softer. Your laugh sounds like a sweet melody in Bucky’s ears. You’re quick witted and sarcastic. You make him smile and he’s beside himself over that fact._

_It really is a pity that you were in this line of work when you could be a Hollywood starlet gracing the silver screen in movies like Casablanca or West Side Story._

_Instead, you’re with him, walking on a busy street in the Windy City, passing as a newlywed couple. There’s a mob boss making himself comfortable in the thriving midwestern state. You’ve been given orders to take him down under whatever means necessary and you’ve been issued a month to get the job done._

_You walk arm in arm with Bucky down the semi crowded street. It’s lunchtime on a weekday afternoon. Mid October. Cool enough for Bucky to enjoy wearing a long sleeved sweater but warm enough for the flower venders to sell their abundant supply._

_“What a lovely couple.” An older man claps his hands and smiles warmly at the two of you. “Would the beautiful lady like some roses?”_

_“The lady would not.” You shake your head. “However, she would love that bouquet of calla lilies.” You grin, pointing to the floral arrangement._

_Bucky pulls out his wallet and gives the vendor a few dollars before you continue your walk back to the apartment. For high profile cases like this one, Hydra spares no expense. You were given nice clothes and accessories in order to uphold your image of a successful lawyer and his new wife._

_“Calla lilies, huh?” Bucky chuckles when you hug the bouquet, crinkling the paper wrapped around the flowers to your chest._

_“They’re my favorite.” You bury your nose in them, inhaling their scent. “Simple. Innocent.” There’s a brief pause and Bucky looks over at you admiring the arrangement. “Beautiful.” You sigh contently. “They’ll look stunning on the kitchen table.”_

_Bucky feels his chest swell and his heart skip a beat. He swallows thickly and tries his best to ignore it. “I couldn’t agree more.” He smiles, pulling you closer to his side as you stroll in the Autumn afternoon._

_\- -_

“You sure you’re up to train right now?” Sam asks Bucky with an unsure expression. “You look like you got hit by an 18 wheeler, then it reversed over you, and then hit you again.”

“Why the fuck am I friends with you?” Bucky asks, more to himself.

Sam shrugs and gets into fighting stance. “Slim pickins’?”

Bucky rolls his eyes and mirrors Sam, nodding when he’s ready to begin.

He does well at the start, dodging every swing Sam throws at him and getting a good jab in here and there. He focuses on his breathing and learning Sam’s moves, strategizing the best technique to take him down. But Sam’s giving him a run for his money. After roughly seven minutes of toying with one another, Bucky finally wrestles Sam to the ground, holding him there until he taps out.

“Oh, that’s how we’re gonna play this today?” Sam chuckles, allowing Bucky to help him back up.

“Guess so.” Bucky grins cockily, getting back into position.

But that was the end of his luck. Sam decided to catch him off guard, roundhouse kicking him in the face and pulling him into his chest for a chokehold. It barely took twenty seconds of straining until Bucky’s vision fades to black and he falls limp in Sam’s grasp.

\- -

_“You may want to put a little pep in your step, darling.”_

_Bucky hears you call from the next room over. He’d just gotten out of the shower, hadn’t even gotten himself dressed yet. He holds the towel low around his waist and looks at the clock on the nightstand. He stands in the doorway and sees you at the table in the kitchen, newspaper in one hand, pen twirling between your fingers of the other as you concentrate on the crossword puzzle._

_“It’s five o’clock, we don’t have to worry about being at Vinny’s for another four hours.” He insures you._

_You look up from the frustrating game and Bucky feels himself blush under your shameless stare. His damp hair sticks to his neck. Your eyes rake over each and every divot in his torso made by his muscles. You linger on his left shoulder, where scarred skin meets jagged metal._

_Your tongue skims over your smirk. “I must say, I’m a very lucky woman to have married such a hunk.” You tease. Bucky rolls his eyes, but you swear that you could see a small smile before he disappears back into the bedroom. He emerges a few moments later in a black t-shirt and a pair of boxers. “I was thinking we could go scope the place out. See what kind of security measures we’re working against. We’ve gotta get our bugs in his bedroom and office so we can hear his plans as he makes them. You’re extremely cocky if you think that’s gonna be an easy task.”_

_Bucky tilts his head and quirks a brow as if to say, ‘fair point’._

_He moves to join you at the table, squinting when the sunlight streaming in catches the diamond ring you wear on your left hand. “What’s our story?”_

_Bucky’s met the mobster before. A few times now, to get in his good graces and score an invite to his weekly poker game._

_Vincent Donatello was a very rich, very frightening man with a thousand watt smile and a short fuse. The shoot first and ask questions later type. If you were being honest, he’d accomplish great things with Hydra. That thought alone scared you to your wits end. Bucky, too. Not that either of you would come out and say it._

_“You’re name is Jack Benjamin and you’re originally from here in the city,” You inform. “Inherited your father’s firm along with all of his money when he passed away, due to a heart attack. We met in Paris. You were on vacation, I was there on location for a photoshoot. We dated for two years and tied the knot last month.” You hold your hand up and wiggle your ring finger._

_Bucky makes a bold move. Bold for him, anyway. He reaches for your hand, cold steel delicately wrapping around your appendages. He examines the piece of jewelry for a short-lived moment. You pay no attention to the disappointed feeling in your gut when he releases your hand in exchange for the gold band he keeps on the table beside the vase that displays the lilies he bought for you._

_“What am I supposed to say if someone asks me why I don’t wear this?” He sighs, flipping the ring back and forth between his fingertips._

_Honestly, you don’t find it that big of a big deal. But the look on Bucky’s face says that he feels otherwise. “You could always say that you were with your side woman earlier in the evening. You’d probably earn points with his posse.” That makes his jaw clench. “Or,” You reach behind your neck, unclasping the gold chain and removing it from where it lies on your chest. Taking the ring from his grasp, you loop the necklace around it. Bucky looks up at you with enlarged eyes when you stand mere inches in front of him. You wear a reassuring smile as you hook the chain around his neck. “You could tell them to mind their own goddamn business. Take that glove off, wave that beautiful piece of machinery in their faces and let them know that you are not one to be fucked with.”_

_Bucky looks down at the ring dangling from his neck. He huffs softly and a grin plays on his lips.”Yes, ma’am.”_

_His husky, breathy voice makes you shudder and goosebumps appear on your flesh. You swallow thickly and force a small smile. “We can head out in thirty minutes.” You brush past him, fingertips grazing against curved metal as you walk to the bedroom._

_~ ~_

_“Alright, best case scenario, we’re out in two and a half hours with all of our mics placed where we need them. Worse case scenario, our cover is blown which ends in a shoot out. We leave no survivors.” You explain, stepping into the elevator with Bucky in toe. He stays silent. Been that way since you left the apartment. He keeps his eyes forward and his hands at his sides. Your eyebrow raises and you grin softly. “What’s got you so nervous? You’ve been in worse situations than this before.”_

_“M’not nervous for me.” His voice is so faint that you almost miss what he says. “These men are lowlives. Creeps, every last one of ‘em.” His lips are pursed and his jaw is clenched._

_His concern is somewhat amusing. You turn to him with a gentle grin. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. Handle any big, bad man who makes the idiotic decision to make unwanted advances.”_

_“I know.” He nods, but his expression goes unchanging. “But you shouldn’t have to.”_

_“It would make my day to see them try.” You extend your leg and hike up the skirt of your dress, revealing the 9 millimeter strapped to the inside of your thigh. “I’ve got a lot of pent up anger that’s just begging to be released.”_

_Bucky’s eyes linger on the exposed skin of your legs, his stare almost makes you blush. The bell chimes, signaling that you’ve arrived to the top floor. The penthouse._

_You fix your skirt and Bucky extends his hand, shifting into the role he plays as show for the mobsters. “C’mon, sweetheart.” He flashes you a warm smile and winks. “Showtime.”_

_\- -_

_Cigar smoke fills your lungs as you sip on red wine that was imported from Tuscany and tasted as expensive as the bottle would lead you to believe. You stand behind Bucky at the poker table with an arm dangling over his chest, hand snaked between the collar of his button up, fingers fiddling with the gold band around his neck._

_You feel eyes on your body from all angles. Your body is buzzing and you’re on high alert. Bucky’s flesh hand rests on the tabletop, fingers drumming on top of his facedown cards. There’s at least three thousand dollars in cash laying in the middle of the table. The other three players have folded. Donatello and Bucky are in a staring contest as tensions build._

_“Your wife is not only beautiful, Mr. Benjamin, but she’s proved to be your good luck charm.” Vinny chuckles, referring to Bucky’s stacks of colored chips piled to his right side. His americanized Italian accent makes you cringe, and you have to pinch Bucky’s nipple to remind him to answer to his alias name._

_Bucky clears his throat and nods, looking up at you with a smile. “I consider myself pretty damn lucky.” He turns his head and presses a tender kiss to the inside of your arm. His smirk doesn’t falter as he flips his cards over, revealing a straight flush._

_Donatello’s face falls as he sighs heavily, tossing his cards carelessly and showing his losing hand of a full house. Bucky cashes in, exchanging his chips for the correct amount of cash as you knock back the rest of the contents in your glass._

_“We seem to be out of wine,” You announce, subtly tugging on the ends of Bucky’s hair to signal it’s time to put the plan into motion. “Mr. Donatello, allow me to make myself useful?” You ask sweetly, shaking the empty bottle._

_“My my, and so polite. You got a sister?” Donatello chortles. “Please sugar, call me Vinny. You offered so kindly, who am I to deny you? The cellar is all the way down that hall.” He points to the east wing and you head off into that direction._

_Bucky pockets his earnings before rising to his feet. “I gotta take a leak. Got a bathroom in this palace?”_

_“Second to last door on the right.” He gestures once more to the hall. “Don’t take too long, huh? We’ll switch things up. Play blackjack. Gimme a chance to earn my money back.”_

_“You’re on.” Bucky flashes a grin over his shoulder before rounding the corner._

_He makes sure no one followed him before he ducks into Vinny’s office that’s directly across the way from the guest washroom. He whispers your name, checking to see if you’re somewhere hiding. He gets no reply and shrugs, going over to the desk. Pulling out the top left drawer, he reaches underneath it and places a minuscule microphone there. Puts another one behind a dusty copy of Moby Dick on the bookshelf over by the sitting area next to the fireplace._

_“Hey,” Bucky nearly jumps out of his skin and you have to cover your mouth to stifle a laugh. “I got the bedroom covered. You almost done in-“_

_“Benjamin?” Donatello calls from the living room._

_“I still have two mics left.” Bucky yells in a whisper, holding the devices in his hand._

_Your eyes grow wide when you hear the screeching of a chair being pushed backwards and muffled talking. “Fuck,” You grab Bucky’s hand and pull him out of the office, careful to shut the door silently. Footsteps echo louder and louder. Bucky stumbles behind you as you yank him into the guest bathroom._

_He watches you, brows drawn together as you bunch your dress and rise it to your hips before climbing onto the counter. “C’mere.” He takes a hesitant step forward and you run your fingers through his hair a bit to match the way you’ve mussed your own. “Would you come closer? I’m not gonna bite you.” You fuss, tugging him forward by his shirt as you undo a few more buttons._

_“Your gun is pointed at my dick!” He retorts through gritted teeth._

_“You think I would strap this thing to my body without the safety on? Don’t be such a baby.” You scold, wrapping your legs around his waist and connecting your lips just in time for the bathroom door to swing open._

_“Benj- woah!” Donatello averts his gaze to the floor._

_“Oh my god. Please, forgive us.” You giggle bashfully._

_“Ay, I get it. I was married three times.” Vinny holds his hands up in surrender. “Feel free to, uh, finish and we can play another round.” He nods, closing the door behind him._

_You sigh heavily and lean your back against the cold mirror. Bucky still stands between your legs and your lips tingle. You can still taste him. “You should, uh, get back out there. I’ll put the last two bugs in the office and come meet you.”_

_Bucky licks over his lips and nods, tapping on the outside of your thigh. “Right. Don’t forget the wine.” He reminds, taking a step back and leaving a void in his place._

> **If I risk it all  
>  Could you break my fall?  
>  How do I live? How do I breathe?  
>  When you’re not here I’m suffocating  
>  I want to feel love, run through my blood  
>  Tell me is this where I give it all up?  
>  For you I have to risk it all  
>  ‘Cause the writing’s on the wall**

_\- -_

Sam tosses an icepack in Bucky’s direction, hitting him in the face with it and earning a glare and a grumble - to which Sam can’t help but to laugh at.

“What the hell happened?” Steve questions on his way to the fridge.

“I kicked his ass.” Sam proclaims.

“You caught me on an off day.” Bucky rolls his eyes, holding the ice to his temple. “You got lucky, don’t count on it happening again.” He can feel both sets of eyes on him when his leg bounces aggressively. They’re watching him, monitoring him like a child. “M’gonna go swim some laps.” He growls under his breath.

Steve closes the refrigerator doors and crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m worried about him.”

“Why?” Sam hops up onto the kitchen island.

“I don’t know.” Steve shakes his head. “But something’s off. I mean, no offense, but when have you ever gotten the upper hand to beat him up like that?”

“First of all, offense taken.” Sam scoffs. “But yeah, I guess you got a point.”

“So, what do we do about it?”

“What do you mean, ‘what do we do about it?’ We do nothing. Prying and prodding has been very unsuccessful in the past. What makes you think it’s gonna work now?”

Steve tightens his jaw and purses his lips. He knows Sam is right, but it’s not what he wants to hear. Sam jumps down from the counter and claps Steve on the shoulder. “Wait for him to come to you. We both know that if something is bothering him, that he will eventually. In the meantime, it’ll be entertaining watching you try to be patient.” He chuckles, turning on his heel.


End file.
